A Project and an Announcement

I made my mama a book like the two I've made my mother-in-law.



















And, as for my announcement....

I think this may be the last time I post here. At least for a little while. All future crafting related posts will be on my brighter than sunsine blog. Since I don't post anything in-depth or go into detail about what I do (which was the whole point of this in the first place) and I so seldom remember to update here, I decided this was the wisest course of action.

Plus, nobody reads this. :)

Hallelujah!

Christ the Lord is risen today!

Hallelujah!

And So!

As usual, it's been awhile.

I really wish I updated here more frequently. I get so discouraged, though, because I never have anything finished. I really ought to talk about the process more.

I'm making some headway on my shawl. Nowhere near finished, but it's getting there. I've added another project to my to-do list: a summer/fall dress for Isabel. I'm just itching to make her something! I'd like to use the yarn Julie got me last year. I was thinking of making a bodice for a dress and then using the fabric I was going to use for the wrap skirt tie band for the dress. We'll see. I have no idea how to draft a knitting pattern and I've never made a whole piece of clothing before, so I asked Katrina for help. Hopefully she can.

I did manage to get some wipes cut and sewn for Isabel. When we're home we use exclusively cloth wipes and I'd like to begin using them when we're out, too. So this will help. I can always use more, but the two thrifted flannel receiving blankets I cut is a good enough start.

I bought the fabric for the curtains and I have three panels currently ironed and pinned. My mom and I spent AN HOUR at the cutting counter, trying to figure out how much fabric I'd need for the six windows I need curtained. The cutting lady was very nice and she did most of the figuring; after a half hour my mom's and my brains hurt and we were tired and the baby was getting fussy. The final number sounded right, so we took it, paid, and went home. I need three panels for the narrow windows and four for the wide windows, plus double for lining. It ended up she cut enough for ONE WINDOW. Each narrow window. But none of the wide ones! Ugh.

My mother-in-law is coming tomorrow and I NEED curtains on the guest bedroom windows, so I'm trying to fix it up as best I can for the short term. Hopefully in the coming days (who am I kidding? Months is more like it) I can figure it out and get the missing fabric.

Speaking of my mother-in-law...

I made another little scrapbook for her. Not as many pictures as last time, and I didn't realize when I bought the book it had all black pages. So it turned out a little differently, but still nice. I hope. Her birthday is tomorrow.

I'm just gonna go ahead and post all the pictures here. I took a picture of each page because I couldn't get it to stand up right.

















That's a lot of pictures. Thanks for looking, if you did. If you even exist. I'm pretty sure I'm talking to myself. And my mom. My mom's great.

Hopefully I can get those curtains done and hung tomorrow! That'd be nice. For now, I'm going to totally veg out and stare blankly at the computer screen while knitting my shawl. I hope I won't screw up too many times.

You've got a list that's three miles long, no doubt....

Anyone know where the song in the title is from? Anyone? Anyone? Prize goes to the winner!

I decided yesterday that I have GOT to get the things I have half-way finished actually DONE before adding any more to my list. The only exception are things that I either have fabric/yarn for already or are curtains. Because we need curtains.

To itemize:

KNITTING:
In progress
baby blanket
pinwheel sweater
dishcloths
shawl
bag

To make
something for Isabel with the pretty yarn Julie gave me as a birthday gift last year
a little something else

SEWING:
In progress
wipes/cleaning cloths
apron for isabel (have leftover fabric from my mother-in-law's apron and pattern, not cut)
add flannel to recently-made mei tai straps

To make
curtains (no fabric yet, expecting to buy Monday)
apron for me (using leftover fabric from napkins made on Tuesday)
wrap skirt (have fabric and pattern)
dress for Isabel (leftover fabric from mei tai and apron, no pattern, still looking, for next autumn)
cloth pads
quilt (using bed/curtain set my mom made for me when I was very small) (slept with fabric until I got married) (i'm a loser)

BEADING:
In progress
my mom's eyeglass chains that broke, from last year's Christmas

To make
more eyeglass chains
nursing necklaces

MISC.
In progress
Connie's book
wedding scrapbook
Isabel's scrapbook

To make
linen spray for my mother-in-law's birthday in March
another mini-scrapbook
covered bulletin boards and pillows from birdie curtains that got faded

And now, for some pictures!

Fabric for the wrap skirt....A lovely wine-colored knit for the skirt and a fun cotton print for the waistband and ties (I have no idea what's wrong with the color in that picture. It really is pretty in real life):




Progress on my shawl:


Like I said, I made napkins on Tuesday. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of the finished product. Fortunately, I have a picture of the fabric!


I have some other things to make, with fabric/yarn/pattern already in hand. I don't want to make my to-do list any longer than it is, though, and these are my "priority". If you can call 25 things priority. I think you can. The question is, will these be done by next February? I sure do hope so!

A new baby carrier!

Yay! I made a mei tai!



Instructions from Hermit of the Southern March (i apologize for not having a direct link...i don't have it handy at the moment) and they were very simple and clear. I made the whole thing in less than two or three hours. This is a big thing for me. :) It was fun! The body is made from remnant courderoy and the straps from muslin.

And, unlike the ring sling, when the weather requires a coat I can easily slip one on and cover us both without restricting movement. Hooray!



The only problem I really have is that sometimes the straps feel like they're digging into my shoulders. I think this is because the material I chose is not very sturdy. Oh, and there's no pocket like on my ring sling so I have to bring the diaper bag or some other small bag for keys, etc. But, all in all it's a very comfortable carrier. Pretty, too! I'm going to make more!

(how crazy is our weather? the one day it was warm enough for short sleeves and the next it was hat-and-coat weather!)

oops

it seems i did repeat myself on some of those christmas things. oh well. you can enjoy my amazing talent twice! ;)

A (mostly) Handmade Holiday (Christmas!!) Part Two

I know, right? Finally

Firstly....the girly pirate apron I made for Caity. Because every girl needs a girly pirate apron!


And, of course, the girly pirate apron I made for Connie (which I may have posted already...forgive me)


Which naturally brings us to the girly pirate apron I made for Trina.


Unembellished Ruby doll I made for our friends' daughter...Unembellished because she'll be soon teething, if she isn't already and I don't want parts going into her little mouth.


Unembellished Ruby doll for Isabel...unembellished for teething reasons. This all feels familiar. Did I type it already?


I made my mother-in-law an apron and my wonderful husband obligingly modeled it for me. He's so handsome. And skinny. Good grief!


A close up of the fabric...the color is a pretty lilac color, which I thought was appropriate because lilac is her favorite flower and it reminds me of spring, which is her favorite season.


And that wraps up Christmas, I do believe. I've been working steadily on my shawl and it's coming along. I've made a dishcloth and LOVE IT and in the process of making another. And I started on a mei tai this afternoon. Maybe I can finish it tonight and wear it to La Leche League tomorrow? One can only hope!

Lookee what I found!

A site all about aprons!

How fun! :) I'm excited to have found it. I'm going to spend some time poking around on there after I'm done with the article I'm supposed to be writing and the apron I'm supposed to be sewing.

Look for Part Two of A (mostly) Handmade Holiday (Christmas!!) coming soon. Also a post on some dishcloths. I made one last week and it's pretty much my favorite thing ever. I love Sugar 'n' Cream!